ALEC Hit With IRS Complaint Filed By Common Cause

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Open government advocates accused a conservative legislative group Monday of falsely claiming tax-exempt status while doing widespread lobbying.

Advocacy group Common Cause said Monday it had filed an IRS complaint accusing ALEC of masquerading as a public charity. ALEC is formed as a nonprofit that brings together lawmakers and private sector organizations to develop legislation and policy.

ALEC says its work is not lobbying.

Common Cause disagrees. "It tells the IRS in its tax returns that it does no lobbying, yet it exists to pass profit-driven legislation in statehouses all over the country that benefits its corporate members," said Bob Edgar, president of Common Cause, in a statement. "ALEC is not entitled to abuse its charitable tax status to lobby for private corporate interests, and stick the bill to the American taxpayer."

Common Cause wants an IRS audit of ALEC's work, penalties and the payment of back taxes.

Alan P. Dye, legal counsel for ALEC, said the claim from Common Cause ignores the law and distorts the truth.

"After three decades of counseling clients on nonprofit and federal disclosure requirements, it's clear to me that this is a tired campaign to abuse the legal system, distort the facts and tarnish the reputation of ideological foes," Dye said.

ALEC has been active since the 1970s and has long drawn the ire of open government groups who question the secretive development of legislation and close relationship between private sector officials and lawmakers who meet at conferences to jointly develop model legislation. Liberal activists have seized on ALEC's support of so-called "Stand Your Ground" laws, coordinating a campaign against the group in the wake of the shooting of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin.

George Zimmerman, who has been charged in Martin's death, maintains he shot in self-defense. His attorney plans to cite the "Stand Your Ground" law, which gives people wide latitude to use deadly force rather than retreat during a fight.

Amid the backlash, several companies who have previously supported ALEC financially, including Coca-Cola Co. and McDonald's Corp., said they are no longer members. And ALEC said it was disbanding its public safety task force that helped export the Florida law to other states.

Those task forces consume much of ALEC's spending, and Common Cause believes they are simply forums for lobbying. Common Cause said its complaint was based on more than 4,000 pages of ALEC records, including talking points that ALEC workers provided to lawmakers in order to better argue on behalf of the legislation the group develops.

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Mike Baker can be reached at https://www.facebook.com/mikebakerap

Comments

[eenp718]

01:50 PM on 04/24/2012

All alec has done, is lobby, for 1% rights. Nothing for the good of the public. And we must be aware, of the "paid-plants" from the right-wing & GOP, trying to change the subject being discussed. No one, on the left or libs, as they call us, said anything about Gun laws. Like faux, it's a made-up argument, to get posts, not applicable to what was being commented on. Check the stats of these paid GOP-traitors of democracy. They're easy to spot, over the low-effort thinkers from faux or rush.

[mvy]

01:16 PM on 04/24/2012

In Gallup polls since 1944, only about 20% of the public has supported the current system of awarding all of a state's electoral votes to the presidential candidate who receives the most votes in each separate state (with about 70% opposed and about 10% undecided). Support for a national popular vote is strong among Republicans, Democrats, and Independent voters, as well as every demographic group in virtually every state surveyed in recent polls.

Americans believe that the candidate who receives the most votes should win.

Despite ALEC's opposition and influence, the National Popular Vote bill has passed 31 state legislative chambers in 21 states. The bill has been enacted by 9 jurisdictions possessing 132 electoral votes - 49% of the 270 necessary to go into effect.

NationalPopularVote
Follow National Popular Vote on Facebook via nationalpopularvoteinc

[mvy]

01:13 PM on 04/24/2012

ALEC Opposes National Popular Vote

A product of the Public Safety and Elections Committee is still posted, and influencing conservative state legislators.

On September 7, 2007, ALEC’s National Board Members gave final approval to a resolution, passed by its members, in support of the current Electoral College system used to elect the President of the United States. http://www.alec.org/docs/Electoral_College_PR.pdf

ALEC’s First Vice Chairman, State Sen. Steve Faris (AR), introduced the resolution after his state came close to passing a bill that would have awarded the state’s Electoral College votes to the winner of the national popular vote instead of the winner of the state’s popular vote. He said “I am proud ALEC has endorsed this resolution and is committed to oppose all national popular vote legislation."

The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states (and DC).

Every vote, everywhere, would be politically relevant and equal in presidential elections.

When the bill is enacted by states possessing a majority of the electoral votes– enough electoral votes to elect a President (270 of 538), all the electoral votes from the enacting states would be awarded to the presidential candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and DC.

The bill uses the power given to each state by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution to change how they award their electoral votes for President.

NationalPopularVote

[Jimserac]

12:30 PM on 04/24/2012

"Amid the backlash, several companies who have previously supported ALEC financially, including Coca-Cola Co. and McDonald's Corp., said they are no longer members. And ALEC said it was disbanding its public safety task force that helped export the Florida law to other states."

Other organizations, like the BILL AND MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION, are also withdrawing support. How very interesting.

WHAT...one wonders, was the "FOUNDATION" ever doing there to begin with??? Hmmmmmmm.....

[lriSdismayed]

10:20 AM on 04/24/2012

I am sure that ignoring the law and distorting the truth lies heavily on ALEC's side not that of the watch dog Common Cause. I think every judge in the US that sided for big business should have their financial records audited for the next ten years to see if they had a major windfall.....

[Reveille]

10:02 AM on 04/24/2012

Coca Cola et al CLAIM that they are no longer members of ALEC; and we know this how? Is there someone actually following the money to be sure? I trust these Sugar Daddies as much as I would trust Cheney.

[demotom]

01:32 AM on 04/24/2012

ALEC is a subversive fascist organization run by radical conservatives. Its operations are very similar to the Mafia protection racket business. Corporations pay large sums to ALEC to have ALEC lobby state legislatures and write legislation for conservative state legislators that protects the business interests of the clients of ALEC, and further the radical agenda of the radical conservatives who control them. In many ways that is no different than muscle men from the mob showing up and offering protection of the business that they are visiting for a fee to cover the cost of providing protection. Protection rackets are illegal and ALEC should be thoroughly investigated to see if they have been practicing as a protection racket under their high sounding name of American Legislative Exchange Council. All corporations that support ALEC should be listed and their stock holders should be made aware of the relationships that such corporations have with ALEC. Corporations such as Exxon, AT&T, Shell Oil, Walmart, State Farm Insurance, and others should tell the public why they support ALEC.

[John St John]

11:54 PM on 04/23/2012

Almost every Republican in office in the state of Utah from Gov. Gary Herbert on down are members of or associated with A.L.E.C. It is the same in many Red States across this nation. It is not enough to focus on the corporations, but the families and politicians that are deeply entrenched within A.L.E.C. as well. People for years scoffed at the notion of an organization like the Skull and Bones of Yale. Well guess what that organization and a few more have grown up , joined up, taken on a new name and manufactured laws to circumvent existing U.S. laws for corporate and private gain.

Question is who do you trust in politics anymore with all of the corporate money invested on both sides of the isle in the House and Senate from the Federal level right down to city/town councils in south central podunk Kansas (no offense to Kansas)? A.L.E.C. has had years to build its network of contacts and bought politicians beginning in the late 1970's. There are many names invested with A.L.E.C. that still sit in the halls of power, many names indeed.

[stalb427]

11:20 PM on 04/24/2012

I vote for the guy that has never voted in favor of increasing the debt limit.

Also the real big ones in ALEC right now are the for profit prisons, a virus destroying the american justice system. Just do some reading on them, the pure evil behind it, directly profiting from jailing people, and using the revenue to bribe politicians to pass tougher laws and judges to hand down stiffer penalties.

[John St John]

11:09 PM on 04/25/2012

stalb427, I have been following the goings on of A.L.E.C. for many years now. I first became aware of them and their tactics when I was living in the Central Valley of California and there was a big dust up going on over gun ownership. A.L.E.C. and the Corrections Corporations of America have been working quietly to put for profit prisons all across the Southwest and Midwest and if they are not stopped, those for profit prisons will become the new work houses of the 21st century.

[RepublicanDepression]

11:49 PM on 04/23/2012

Great news!

Boycott Wal-Mart until they leave ALEC!

(In case you needed another reason)

[BayConnect]

12:57 AM on 04/24/2012

Don't do that. I wouldn't be capture dead in Wal-Mart or SAMS. The Wal-Mart corporation is and has been one of the biggest cause of our trade deficit with China for more than a decade.

[stevec2nd]

02:08 AM on 04/24/2012

Whaaa???

[Sandee McHale Delano]

04:48 PM on 05/14/2012

Have not stepped foot in a Wal-Mart since 2000 other than to talk to HR person for a client once. Refuse to buy anything from them. Checked tags as I walked through and nothing was made in the USA. Mostly stuff from From china, Thailand.......They are evil-pay terrible wages, crappy benefits, employees are disposable. They are partly responsible for the stagnant wages in this country since they are one of the largest employers. Now, how pathetic have we become?

[vandegrasse]

11:31 PM on 04/23/2012

This is just the B section of the list of corporations that belong to ALEC!

Baltimore Gas and Electric Co.[8]
Bank of America[9]
Bankers Insurance Co.[8]
Barrick Gold Corporation[8]
Baxter Healthcare Corporation[9][8] (a "Director" level sponsor of the 1998 ALEC Annual Conference, but not listed as a "Private Sector Member"[25])
Bayer Corp., Private Enterprise Board member,[1] State corporate co-chair of Massachusetts, Nevada, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Texas[7] and "Chairman" level sponsor of 2011 ALEC Annual Conference[11] ($50,000 in 2010)[12][8]
Bell Atlantic[8]
Bell Atlantic PA[9]
BellAtlantic WV[8]
BellSouth Corp. (now AT&T)[8]
BellSouth South Carolina[8]
Beneficial Management Corp.[8]
BI Incorporated (a GEO Group Company)[8]
Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, "Director" level sponsor of 2011 ALEC Annual Conference[11] ($10,000 in 2010)[12][9][8]
BlueCross BlueShield of Louisiana, "Trustee" level sponsor of 2011 ALEC Annual Conference[11] ($5,000 in 2010)[12]
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas[9]
Boehringer Ingelheim[26][8]
Boeing Corporation[9][8]
Boyd Gaming Corp.[8]
BP America, Inc., "President" level sponsor of 2011 ALEC Annual Conference[11] ($100,000 in 2010)[12][9][8]
Bristol-Myers Squibb[27][8]
Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation (now part of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company)[8]
Browning-Ferris Industries (licensed trademark of Allied Waste Industries)[8]
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad (BNSF), "Trustee" level sponsor of 2011 ALEC Annual Conference[11] ($5,000 in 2010)[12]
Burroughs Wellcome (now GlaxoSmithKline)[26][8]

[RepublicanDepression]

11:50 PM on 04/23/2012

Nice work.

[Sandee McHale Delano]

04:49 PM on 05/14/2012

There is a complete list of all companies involved at www.alecexposed.org It is frightening.

[stevec2nd]

02:10 AM on 04/24/2012

Thanks. Really scary, but thanks.

[vandegrasse]

11:27 PM on 04/23/2012

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=ALEC_Corporations

Read it. You'll be shocked. I guarantee!

[baileywick]

12:58 AM on 04/24/2012

Thanks. Bookmarked and passed on, for the foreseeable future.
F&F

[OldTulsan]

09:47 PM on 04/23/2012

An example of ALEC's influence in Congress...

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/04/23-4
ALEC's Vision of Pre-Empting EPA Coal Ash Regs Passes the House | Common Dreams

"The U.S. House of Representatives passed an amendment on April 18 to the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2012 (HR 4348) that would effectively pre-empt the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating coal ash, the waste from coal burning plants. About 140 million tons of coal ash are produced by power plants in the United States each year. There are about 1,000 active coal ash storage sites across the country.

According to the EPA, the ash contains concentrations of arsenic, boron, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury and other metals, but the coal industry has claimed there is less mercury in the ash than in a fluorescent light bulb. However, the EPA found in 2010 that the cancer risk from arsenic near some unlined coal ash ponds was one in 50 -- 2,000 times the agency’s regulatory goal. Additionally, researchers from the Environmental Integrity Project, Earthjustice, and Sierra Club have documented water contamination from coal ash sites in 186 locations. The new bill would strip the EPA’s authority to regulate the ash and hand it over to the states..."

[RepublicanDepression]

11:50 PM on 04/23/2012

Scary.

[OldTulsan]

12:03 AM on 04/24/2012

I still remember the coal ash dam that failed several years ago.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/14/coal-ash-dams-hazard-spill-eip-report_n_1149655.html
Coal Ash Dams Are A Major Hazard Coal-State Politicians Want To Ignore

"Just days before the three-year anniversary of the devastating dike failure at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Fossil Plant, the Environmental Protection Agency still has little authority to regulate the storage of toxic coal ash produced as a byproduct of coal power. A new report released Tuesday shows coal ash's harmful environmental effects are more widespread than previously understood.

Meanwhile, a bill proposed by a bipartisan coalition of coal-state senators would strip away the federal government's power to do anything about it..."

Profits over people.

[JuliaDemJules2020]

09:42 PM on 04/23/2012

Let's hope all entities that back ALEC that is backed by the Koch Brothers all say goodbye.
Anything the Koch are behind stay far away and avoid it.
Koch holding the shovel digging our Country deep into a grave. That is their dream. And the Teaparty wants it to come true.

OBAMA/BIDEN 2012 and the House.

[Notmybrotherskeeper]

09:33 PM on 04/23/2012

The Stand Your Ground law isn't the problem......zealots who don't like the 2nd amendment are the problem.

[jayaf1980]

11:11 PM on 04/23/2012

I'm for the 2nd Amendment, I own guns, but the 2nd Amendment was written not for the use that it is being portrayed to. The Amendment was written because of the impending Revolutionary War, and the need to have an armed militia to defend the just formed nation. I believe in responsible gun ownership, there is absolutely no reason to arm people who have been convicted of committing violent felonies.

[RepublicanDepression]

11:53 PM on 04/23/2012

Notmybrotherskeeper: The Stand Your Ground law isn't the problem"

Prove it. With facts. Or FAIL!

"Fascism is alive and well in 2012 America." Yes, we all wish you would stop.

[jd29992]

09:04 AM on 04/24/2012

I find it funny how liberals misuse the word “Fascism” it is not big business controlling government it is government controlling big business the economic definition of Fascism “a centralized government control of private enterprise,” look it up! So in a way you are right Fascism is alive and well now in the Obama administration and progressives trying to control private industry with a centralized government!

[wtg246]

09:24 PM on 04/23/2012

So sad to see how this organization and other republican supported organizations are using people thru fear, hate, and lies so they can get elected just to continue the same agenda that failed us thru the Bush/republican controlled years. Like fighting to the bitter end for 5% tax rate on overseas profits. And no tax increase on billionaires. And under no circumstance discontinue oil subsidies even though that money could be used much better in other areas. And continue in trying to take down our U.S. auto industry, public education, our postal service, the EPA, FDA, and so much more. Are they representing you when polls show 70% in favor yet they vote otherwise? I don't think so.